Abstract
Dentists who accept social security patients in Germany today are bound by a large
number of rules and regulations which impose severe limits on their free choice of
treatment, cost-effectiveness being a prime consideration.
The treatment of acute conditions predominates in a modern compulsory insurance practice.
The author analysed his own case records and the statistics provided by the KZV (association
of dental practitioners for patients with compulsory insurance) for the period from
1983 to 1990 to establish the effect of introducing consistent use of homœopathic
treatment from the end of 1984 on the frequency with which certain standard treatments
were required. The results were compared with the average figures of other dentists
and a computation made of potential economic advantages at a national level.
Key Words
Social security - Follow-up treatment - Oral surgery - Arnica - Average frequency
of treatment - Reduction in costs - Proof of efficacy